Warrior's Trials
by Zakiba
Summary: The Clans face new dangers and new alliances and truces must be formed to secure the future.


_**Welcome to my story! I LOVE the Warriors series, but I found it a little hard to write a fanfiction about a storyline that's still continuing. So I came up with this. I may be needing some OCs (Other Cats) later on, so stay tuned. Also, because the Warriors series is still going on, this story can't be excessively long. Enjoy anyway!**_

"_Jayfeather...Jayfeather..."_

"Who's out there?" Jayfeather yowled. He was surrounded by mist, swirling under his paws and stretching across the ground and reaching like claws up the trees, blocking the sky. Jayfeather could hardly see his surroundings, just an endless cloud of cold mist. He padded blindly forward, trying to make sense of his situation.

_"Jayfeather..."_

"Where are you?" Jayfeather wailed again. He strained his ears, trying to place the eerily familiar meow. It was the voice of a she-cat, somewhere in front of him. He picked up his pace, his paws ghosting over the frosty ground. Suddenly, there she was. She was running in front of him, her black paws churning the mist, her tail streaming out behind her.

"Stop!" Jayfeather called. "Please, stop!" The cat slowed her pace. Jayfeather's whiskers quivered with the cold as the black she-cat slowly turned around. Her face was veiled by the mist, and she took a step closer.

"_Jayfeather..." _she rasped. "_you must live. The Three...must live._" With that, she took one more step forward. The mist cleared around her face, and Jayfeather's eyes stretched twice their size when he saw her face.

"Hollyleaf!" he screeched. But the instant her face appeared, it was gone. Jayfeather jumped up, panting. He was back in his dark, soft nest, his blue eyes sightless once more.

_Another nightmare. _Jayfeather sighed sadly, stretching out his front paws, remembering his sister. _If only there were some way..._

He tried to push the thoughts from his head, but instead made them

_There's nothing we could've done. Hollyleaf made her decision, and no cat could stop it. Not even StarClan. _Jayfeather knew that he was also trying to convince himself. After the lies he and his brother, Lionblaze, had been told by Leafpool and Squirrelflight, Jayfeather felt more alone then ever. Even his own father, Crowfeather of WindClan, resented him. He still had Lionblaze, and Jayfeather didn't know how he could cope without someone he could trust.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to get to sleep after his dream, he decided to take a walk by the lake. The cool green-leaf breeze ruffled his pelt as he slipped out of the camp, avoiding Brackenfur's watchful gaze. As he padded along under the trees, it occurred to him that he would have to go the the Moonpool any day now, perhaps next moonhigh.

_Maybe I'll see Hollyleaf in StarClan, _he thought to himself, a flash of hope blooming in his chest. _But what if I don't?_

The thought scared Jayfeather too much. He shook his head and broke into a run, heading for the shore. The crisp tang of pine trees entered his nostrils as he walked along the edge of the lake, searching for a certain root. Once he'd found it, he felt around inside, until his paws rested upon his most prized possession: His stick, which held a connection to the ancient tribe of cats who had lived here many seasons ago. He rubbed his pads softly over the smooth wood, feeling the scratches etched into it, whispers of the ancient cats swirling around him. But this time, Rock didn't speak to him. Usually, the old cat would appear in a vision and give him advice or information, but this time, all that entered Jayfeather's ears was silence. After sitting there and listening for a few heartbeats, Jayfeather replaced his stick and turned back to the ThunderClan camp, pondering what was happening with Rock. He had never been this silent.

On the path back to the camp, Jayfeather was jolted out of his thoughts by a rustling a few fox-lengths ahead of him, past a large clump of brambles.

_A mouse? A vole? _ He listened for a heartbeat. No. Way too big for a piece of fresh-kill. He tensed, he claws sliding out. Shrinking back into the shadows, he listened, tasting the air. It was a cat.

_WindClan._

Jayfeather couldn't place the scent exactly, but it was definitely a WindClan cat.

_Why is WindClan in out territory? _The fur along Jayfeather's neck began rising and he bared his teeth. Was it an invasion. He slinked forward toward the noise, his tail lashing. But when he was just about a tail-length from the brambles, he heard the cat dash off, in the direction of moorlands.

_Should I follow? _Jayfeather hesitated. Could one blind medicine cat stop a trespasser?

_No, _he decided. When he went to the Moonpool, he would ask Kestrelflight if he knew anything about it. And if he lied, Jayfeather could find out. Maybe StarClan knew who it was. Jayfeather sheathed his claws and stalked off toward the camp, but a cloud of doubt lingered in his mind. Had he made the right decision? He had the power of the stars in his paws; is this what he was supposed to use them for? He turned back to where the intruder had been and opened his jaws, letting the scent flood his tongue. At the next Gathering, Jayfeather would be looking with a cat of that scent. But until then, he would keep it to himself. It couldn't do harm to keep the secret until he went to the Moonpool, could it?

_**I know that was kind of short and scrappy, but give me a break, it's my first chapter. The coming ones will be better, I promise. So if you think I have a shot of becoming a decent writer, stay tuned. Thanks for reading!**_


End file.
